NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A new bill is on the table at Tuesday's Metro Council meeting, which looks to quiet all the fanfare and sounds of lower Broadway.
"Years ago they used to give citations for these type of things," said General Manager of AJ's Good Time Bar, Matt Harville. "I feel like a lot of that has just gone away."
The bill focuses on making sure bar and restaurant speakers on Broadway aren't turned toward the street but instead positioned towards the center of the bar.
First responders believe the changes could keep the community safer to help police officers in the area be able to communicate more easily.
This would take the sound down a notch, but there's also another change this bill would make to cap the sound at 85 decibels when measured 50 feet from the outside wall of the bar. The CDC equates that noise level to a lawnmower or leaf blower.
"The current code says 85 decibels — that doesn't change and what we're seeing, especially because those speakers are turned outside, they're getting up to about 105 decibels," said council member Jeff Syracuse who is one of the bill's sponsors.
The sponsors of the bill said this is for the safety of a lot of folks that tour the street every day.
"That's not healthy for anybody — that's not healthy for our tourists. It's not healthy for our musicians and our hospitality workers," said Syracuse.
The current noise level has made it hard for officers to hear each other and those around them, which can lead to putting the public's safety in danger.
"Often times I'll have to ask a coworker what was said on the radio," said Lt. Paul Stein with MNPD's Entertainment District Unit. "ECC, our dispatchers, often times they're asking us to repeat multiple times locations we're at or what the officers are in need of."
In fact, since MNPD's Entertainment District Unit launched in February, Stein said there have been two incidents where shots were fired nearby and officers couldn't even hear them. "We want to be able to manage it, you know," he said. "I think there's a happy balance."
If passed, the new Office of Nightlife would have a special committee to study the long-term impact of loud music. It would also look at the impact it has on musicians playing there as well.
"People come from all over the world to enjoy music city," said Harville. "You can't have music city without the music, but you want to be able to enjoy that music as well."
